US Disaster Preparation and Lack of with Regards to the Hurricanes and US Administration
Introduction

The health policy relating to U.S. disaster preparation or lack thereof with respect to hurricanes is one that must include a better system of communication between the U.S. disaster response teams and the hospitals in the affected regions. As Hurricane Katrina showed, the U.S. was not prepared to handle the level of response needed in the wake of the catastrophe the hurricane produced. The problems with the response to Hurricane Katrina were numerous: there was no National Response Plan (NPR) in place and there was no National Incident Management System (NIMS) in existence. Additionally, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was virtually ineffective: it had been in decline for years, was suffering from significant turnover among top leaders, and the individuals who were in charge lacked the appropriate leadership experience and knowledge to oversee an effective response to a natural disaster like Hurricane Katrina (Lewis, 2009; Select Bipartisan Committee to Investigate the Preparation for and Response to Hurricane Katrina, 2006). Many lessons have been learned since Katrina that have enabled the U.S. to be better prepared to handle hurricanes and ensure that health care facilities are ready to treat those in need. This policy brief will describe the health policy issue, its impact on access/cost/quality, what the policy would do to ensure better access, what some of the potential unintended outcomes of the policy might be, and what stakeholders are likely to support and oppose and why.

The Policy

The policy under discussion is the problem of preparedness and a lack of coordination between the response agencies and local area hospitals. To provide care for people during an emergency situation in a time like a hurricane, proper precautions need to be followed and a protocol has to be developed that all stakeholders can appreciate and abide by. What this policy calls for is interagency collaboration to ensure that the effective quality care is being delivered to those in need during a hurricane disaster. This is an important policy because, as Katrina showed, only agencies that are motivated by a cohesive spirit will perform well. First, FEMA had inadequately trained staff and New Orleans’ Incident Command System (ICS) was not ready or prepared to respond to a disaster like Katrina, and this was the fault of leadership under both Director Michael Brown, who resigned shortly after Katrina, and New Orleans’ local government. Second, FEMA had been unable to provide adequate shelter for all those affected by the hurricane and the following flooding, and this was a result of leadership’s failure to organize. Third, leadership failed to provide adequate logistics in handling the response and had to rely on the leadership of the U.S. Coast Guard to accomplish anything of substance in the aftermath of Katrina (Samaan & Verneuil, 2009). The U.S. Coast Guard excelled and surpassed expectations in the wake of Katrina because...…will also be significant hurdles to overcome in terms of planning and coordinating with relevant agencies. At the same time they are likely to benefit from the additional funding secured that they are provided to develop these plans. The federal and state and local response agencies are also likely support this policy as it means their effectiveness will be improved and a much more rapid response effort can be developed ahead of time with pre-planned steps for communicating quickly put into place. The public is likely to support this policy because it means that they will receive better care, improved access to care, and that the same problems seen during Katrina and other hurricanes will not be revisited. Cost of care will be covered by the federal government under emergency declarations funding and so the public will not have to worry about their own health care bills at the time.

Conclusion: How to Vote

Voting to support this policy should be the top priority over everyone in Congress as it will be a positive step in bridging the gap between current health care facilities and the agency response teams tasked with developing appropriate plans for hurricane disasters. By supporting this policy and voting for it Congress will be able to show constituents that they have put their best interests at heart. A policy such as this would create more cohesion and better communication among the most important players in delivering health care effectively to hurricane…